Anti-Trends for 2018

January 2, 2018

Every January design magazines and blogs clamor to foist upon us the latest and greatest trends and colors… ultra violet! lucite! chevron! beige! Since beginning The Glam Pad six years ago, I have have developed an aversion towards trends, to which many I have unfortunately fallen prey. With the advent of Instagram, today’s trends seem to churn and burn at a lightning fast pace, leaving you with a house that is out of style almost as quickly as you can get it decorated. This sets in motion a very expensive cycle for the consumer that can be avoided simply by following timeless, classic design principles that will last a lifetime. Therefore January will be dedicated to anti-trends for 2018! This month I will feature interviews, posts, and tips from celebrated designers and industry leaders on how to achieve timeless design, including Leta Austin Foster, Holly Holden, and the legendary Mario Buatta whose consistently elegant interiors have set the gold standard for the industry for more than 50 years.

Hi Andrea,
Happy New Year! Bravo to you on this month’s focus for The Glam Pad.
We here at The Lewis Design Group have a logo, “Current yet Classic”. This means that we may embrace some of the current color palettes or accessories ( still traditional ),but we aleays strive to achieve a timeless look.
Looking forward to January!!
Again, many thanks for your daily inspiration. You have impeccable taste.
Best,
Barbara Lewis

Thank you! I see classically decorated rooms from any period and they still look good. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Alex Papachristidis is exactly right. Americans always have to have new; and I abhor that. Europeans do it right the first time, and keep it that way, until it becomes so threadbare it has to be redone. That is the way interior design really should be – classic, not trendy. When people automatically say, “Oh, it has to be updated,” I want to hit them over the head with my purse.

I laughed out loud this morning. I thought back from my own style and “stuff” collecting I went through My Americana phase, still can’t stand a certain color of blue that I over- used in the 80’s. Funniest martial story of a young couple with furniture money to spend on a new sofa. We enter furniture gallery where we both go off in different directions. He found The Pit and I found an overstuffed chintz covered sofa. We compromised and got a sofa neither one of us liked. The next go around we got two gorgeous Chesterfields. Live and learn The Big laugh was the chicken stage. OMG but to this day I still have an Italian rooster that my husband bought out from a display store window. I still like him but he doesn’t have a harum of hens around anymore. Right on to the anti trend month blogs.

Wow Andrea! Powerful first post of the year! Point well made – and has me thinking. Wow! I can’t believe you are actually interviewing Mario Buatta?! Are you kidding? What a coup! I can’t wait for that!!!!! Happy new year!

We will be gutting our dining room for the next ORC to remove the super-heavy Tuscan wall finish, ugh. I was so proud of how thick I got that joint compound on there, lol! And yes, a few roosters are languishing in storage boxes in my attic 😉

Ps all of these comments are so funny – but ccchintz… Both go off in different directions so they “compromise” and buy something neither likes! That has to be the funniest line pertaining to decorating I’ve ever read! And…so…true…

Amen, Andrea. Happily, I’ve never fallen for any major ‘trends’, mostly because when we were just starting out, I had no money to make expensive mistakes.. then we had children to raise, and college tuition to save for-and, being of a European background, the idea of constantly changing and throwing out perfectly lovely furniture just didn’t resonate with me..
The one major thing that needed changing over the years is the wallpaper, and borders..Oh- those borders 🙂

Bravo! During Mario Buatta’s hayday in the eighties, we designers had the privilege if having clients who woukd put money and thought into the purchase of the best fabrics and beautiful silk trims. We would use custom workrooms to create wonderfully crafted draperies and upholstery.. This was because the classic design favored by the upper class society figures of the day were meant to be permenant, timeless, and forever. They were the models that others wanted to exemplify. Designeres were creating permanent backgrounds for the clients’s collections of art, things from travels and family photos, their history. Interiors were not changed like couture gowns. They were curated and replaced only as they were lovingly worn out. Clients were willing to invest in the best quality because these things were made to last forever. It woukd be lovely if we could get back to quality over change.

I look forward to January’s posts. I love all of the quotes you posted. I am not trendy and particularly like the quote about not changing something just because you think it might be dated. Apparently my bathrooms are about to be back in big time. I have resisted changing them other than the wallpaper because there was nothing wrong with them, just not what was showing up in the magazines. On a side note, I am glad to see some color reappearing in the magazines since I have not embraced the all white and neutral look.
I like to be myself, so this reaffirmed my thoughts.

I fell prey to the Santa Fe trend that was big in the late ’80s. It didn’t last long and I learned a big lesson on following trends. I died laughing when I was in Homegoods the other day and saw one of those macrame dream catchers in the large round hoops that were a big part of the Santa Fe look. No thanks. Never again!

A funny thing about the roosters, though. I have a pair that was given to me by great aunt who actually bought them in Italy in the early 50’s. I think they are a classic, but since roosters became so trendy, I am hesitant put them out. I am keeping them though and maybe in a few more years, I can drag them back out.

It is difficult to avoid succumbing to trends when you are drawn to a fresh idea and are convinced it’s an original one. Quickly, and sadly, you see it ad nauseum on the net and soon you can’t post shots of it on Instagram for fear of boring and dismaying the movers and shakers who will unfollow you. YOU get bored with it and ashamed you ever went there.

Instagram is so intimidating and powerful that I feel it almost dilutes and halts imagination. So many options breed creative inertia. At least in me. That’s why I agree with you that it’s time to drag out my Mario or my Tony Duquette volumes and reassure myself that true beauty stands the test of time!

I couldn’t agree more. I feel fortunate that I haven’t fallen for all the trends. I know what I love and what makes me happy in my home. I love the comment about Europe remaining steadfast in sticking with their classic interiors. It also gives the home that interesting purchased- over- time look that takes careful consideration because you know you will be living with your choice for a long time.

Enjoy your posts. I like the quote about European style….they don’t feel the need to ‘update’constantly.
As to the comment about the roosters…..to this day I love my roosters! For me, I guess that means they’re timeless. ???